Nicotinic agonists

thumb|Tobacco drying kiln in Myrtleford|Myrtleford, Victoria, Australia, 2018. This kiln was built in 1957, and moved to Rotary Park in 2000. Kilns of this design were built from the early 1930s through to the late 1960s. thumb |Basma tobacco leaves drying in the sun at Pomak village in [[Xanthi, Greece]]

Acetylcholine (ACh) is an organic compound that functions in the brain and body of many types of animals (including humans) as a neurotransmitter. Its name is derived from its chemical structure: it is an ester of acetic acid and choline. Parts in the body that use or are affected by acetylcholine are referred to as cholinergic.

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic medication. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, it is used to treat infestations including head lice, scabies, river blindness (onchocerciasis), strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis and lymphatic filariasis. It works through many mechanisms to kill the targeted parasites, and can be taken by mouth, or applied to the skin for external infestations. It belongs to the avermectin family of medications.

Levamisole, sold under the brand name Ergamisol among others, is a medication used to treat parasitic worm infections, specifically ascariasis and hookworm infections. It is taken by mouth.

Varenicline, sold under the brand names Chantix and Champix among others, is a medication used for smoking cessation and for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. It is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist. When activated, this receptor leads to the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, the brain's reward center, thereby reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms with smoking cessation, although less pronounced than a full agonist (e.g. nicotine).

chemical compound

Pyrantel is a medication used to treat a number of parasitic worm infections. This includes ascariasis, hookworm infections, enterobiasis (pinworm infection), trichostrongyliasis, and trichinellosis. It is taken by mouth.

Galantamine is a type of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It is an alkaloid extracted from the bulbs and flowers of Galanthus nivalis (common snowdrop), Galanthus caucasicus (Caucasian snowdrop), Galanthus woronowii (Voronov's snowdrop), and other members of the family Amaryllidaceae, such as Narcissus (daffodil), Leucojum aestivum (snowflake), and Lycoris including Lycoris radiata (red spider lily). It can also be produced synthetically.

Cytisine, also known as baptitoxine, cytisinicline, or sophorine, is an alkaloid that occurs naturally in several plant genera, such as Laburnum and Cytisus of the family Fabaceae. It has been used medically to help with smoking cessation. It has been found effective in several randomized clinical trials, including in the United States and New Zealand, and is being investigated in additional trials in the United States and a non-inferiority trial in Australia in which it is being compared head-to-head with the smoking cessation aid varenicline (sold in the United States as Chantix). It has als

Tropisetron is a serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist used mainly as an antiemetic to treat nausea and vomiting following chemotherapy, although it has been used experimentally as an analgesic in cases of fibromyalgia.

Carbachol, also known as carbamylcholine and sold under the brand name Miostat among others, is a cholinomimetic drug that binds and activates acetylcholine receptors. Thus it is classified as a cholinergic agonist. It is primarily used for various ophthalmic purposes, such as for treating glaucoma, or for use during ophthalmic surgery. It is generally administered as an ophthalmic solution (i.e., eye drops).

Arecoline is a cholinergic agent, stimulant, and naturally occurring alkaloid found in areca (betel) nuts of the areca palm (Areca catechu) found in South and Southeast Asia. Its effects, depending on the dose, include stimulation, alertness, increased concentration, cognitive enhancement, elation, euphoria, pro-sexual effects, relaxation, reduced anxiety, and sedation, as well as addiction and withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation. Its effects are described as subtle and it has been likened to a strong cup of coffee. There are also other active constituents of areca nuts, but arecoline is

Cotinine is an alkaloid found in tobacco and is also the predominant metabolite of nicotine, typically used as a biomarker for exposure to tobacco smoke. Cotinine is currently being studied as a treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Cotinine was developed as an antidepressant as a fumaric acid salt, cotinine fumarate, to be sold under the brand name Scotine, but it was never marketed.

Lobeline is a piperidine alkaloid found in a variety of plants, particularly those in the genus Lobelia, including Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata), Devil's tobacco (Lobelia tupa), great lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), Lobelia chinensis, and Hippobroma longiflora. In its pure form, it is a white amorphous powder which is freely soluble in water.

Anabasine is a pyridine and piperidine alkaloid found in the tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca) plant, as well as in tree tobacco's close relative the common tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum). It is a structural isomer of, and chemically similar to, nicotine. It has been used as an insecticide.

Epibatidine is a chlorinated alkaloid that is secreted by the Ecuadorian frog Epipedobates anthonyi and poison dart frogs from the genus Ameerega. It was discovered by John W. Daly in 1974, but its structure was not fully elucidated until 1992. Whether epibatidine occurs naturally remains controversial due to challenges in conclusively identifying the compound from the limited samples collected by Daly. By the time that high-resolution spectrometry was used in 1991, there remained less than one milligram of extract from Daly's samples, raising concerns about possible contamination. Samples fro

Phenylpiracetam, also known as fonturacetam () and sold under the brand names Phenotropil, Actitropil, and Carphedon among others, is a stimulant and nootropic medication used in Russia and certain other Eastern European countries in the treatment of cerebrovascular deficiency, depression, apathy, attention, and memory problems, among other indications. It is also used in Russian cosmonauts to improve physical, mental, and cognitive abilities. The drug is taken by mouth.

Anatoxin-a, also known as Very Fast Death Factor (VFDF), is a secondary, bicyclic amine alkaloid and cyanotoxin with acute neurotoxicity. It was first discovered in the early 1960s in Canada, and was isolated in 1972. The toxin is produced by multiple genera of cyanobacteria and has been reported in North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Symptoms of anatoxin-a toxicity include loss of coordination, muscular fasciculations, convulsions and death by respiratory paralysis. Its mode of action is through the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR) where i

Myosmine is an alkaloid found in tobacco and other plants. Chemically, it is closely related to nicotine. It inhibits aromatase sevenfold more potently than nicotine. It also releases dopamine in adult but not adolescent rats.

Decamethonium (Syncurine) is a depolarizing muscle relaxant or neuromuscular blocking agent, and is used in anesthesia to induce paralysis.

active ingredient in alcoholic beverages

GTS-21 (also known as DMXBA or DMBX-anabaseine) is an investigational new drug being studied for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, as well as for its potential to enhance memory and cognitive function. Despite study of the molecule since 1990s, as of 2025 it has not been shown to be effective in clinical trials.

Tribendimidine is a broad-spectrum anthelmintic agent developed in China, at the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases in Shanghai. It is a derivative of amidantel.

Pozanicline (INN, codenamed ABT-089) is a drug developed by Abbott, that has nootropic and neuroprotective effects. Animal studies suggested it useful for the treatment of ADHD and subsequent human trials have shown ABT-089 to be effective for this application. It binds with high affinity subtype-selective to the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and has partial agonism to the α6β2 subtype, but not the α7 and α3β4 subtypes familiar to nicotine. It has particularly low tendency to cause side effects compared to other drugs in the class.

chemical compound

Rivanicline (TC-2403, RJR-2403, (E)-metanicotine) is a drug which acts as a partial agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It is subtype-selective, binding primarily to the α4β2 subtype. It has nootropic effects and was originally developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease, but a second action that was subsequently found was that it inhibits the production of Interleukin-8 and thus produces an antiinflammatory effect, and so it has also been developed as a potential treatment for ulcerative colitis. Rivanicline also has stimulant and analgesic actions which are th

ABT-418 is a drug developed by Abbott, that has nootropic, neuroprotective and anxiolytic effects, and has been researched for treatment of both Alzheimer's disease and ADHD. It acts as an agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, subtype-selective binding with high affinity to the α4β2, α7/5-HT3, and α2β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors but not α3β4 receptors ABT-418 was reasonably effective for both applications and fairly well tolerated, but produced some side effects, principally nausea, and it is unclear whether ABT-418 itself will proceed to clinical development or if anothe

TC-1827 is an orally active, selective agonist of the α4β2 nicotinic receptors. Administration of TC-1827 improved memory and learning in a variety of rodents and increased long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices. In addition, the compound was without significant cardiovascular side effects, except for a small, transient rise in arterial blood pressure. The pro-cognitive effects of TC-1827 last much longer than the short half-life (0.2–1.0 hours) would suggest.

SIB-1553A is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist that is selective for receptors with a β4 subunit. Administration of SIB-1553A improved memory and attention in a Parkinson's disease model.

Tebanicline (ebanicline, ABT-594) is a potent synthetic nicotinic (non-opioid) analgesic drug developed by Abbott. It was developed as a less toxic analog of the potent poison dart frog-derived compound epibatidine, which is about 200 times stronger than morphine as an analgesic, but produces extremely dangerous toxic side effects. Like epibatidine, tebanicline showed potent analgesic activity against neuropathic pain in both animal and human trials, but with far less toxicity than its parent compound. It acts as a partial agonist at neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, binding to both

Ispronicline (TC-1734, AZD-3480) is an experimental drug which acts as a partial agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It progressed to phase II clinical trials for the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but is no longer under development.

AR-R17779 is a drug that acts as a potent and selective full agonist for the α7 subtype of neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It has nootropic effects in animal studies, but its effects do not substitute for those of nicotine. It has also been studied as a potential novel treatment for arthritis.

A-84543 is a drug developed by Abbott, which acts as an agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with high selectivity for the α4β2 subtype. It is widely used in scientific research into the structure and function of this receptor subtype and has been the lead compound for the development of a large family of related derivatives.

ABT-202 is a drug developed by Abbott, which acts as an agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and has been researched for use as an analgesic, although it has not passed clinical trials.

Epiboxidine is a chemical compound which acts as a partial agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, binding to both the α3β4 and the α4β2 subtypes. It was developed as a less toxic analogue of the potent frog-derived alkaloid epibatidine, which is around 200 times stronger than morphine as an analgesic but is deadly toxic.

drug that binds to and activates nicotinic cholinergic receptors (receptors, nicotinic)